Sound Bites: Culture Club, Marc Anthony, Mark Knopfler

January 24

Culture Club Ends Virgin Era

After 19 years together, Virgin Records and Culture Club have parted ways. "The band have been with us a long time but weren't making money any more," a label insider told British tabloid The Sun. "It's a real shame because it feels like the end of something very big, but at the end of the day, money talks." The band — who in its heyday scored hits with such songs as "Karma Chameleon" and "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" — has not thrown in the towel and would like to find a new deal, though band leader Boy George has also pursued solo work as a DJ recently.

Salsa Singer Anthony Lands Film Role

Salsa-pop crossover singer Marc Anthony says he has landed a role in a new movie, In the Time of Butterflies, in which he plays a Latin lover — a role that might not be much of a stretch. "They wanted me to play a husband, but I picked a smaller, more poignant role," he told the New York Daily News. "Hey, I get to tell the world that I played Salma Hayek's lover. Bragging rights, you know. I'm a Latino man. And she's the hottest Latina out there." The movie, based on a true story about three sisters slain in 1960 for opposing Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo, won't be the first for Anthony. He's also appeared in Big Night, Hackers, and Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead.

Dinosaur Named Knopfler

British scientists have discovered a new species of dinosaur in Madagascar, and they named it after Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler. But they aren't trying to suggest anything about the singer's career — they say they were listening to his music when they dug up the remains. "We decided what better way to honor Knopfler than to name a dinosaur after him," Dr. Scott Sampson told Reuters. "If it weren't for his music we might not have found the animal in the first place." Masiakasaurus Knopfleri is a 6-foot-long meat-eating creature, about the size of a German shepherd, with unusual protruding teeth. The big lizard's namesake is far from extinct — though hits "Sultans of Swing" and "Money for Nothing" are now part of rock history, the singer 's September solo album, Sailing to Philadelphia garnered critical praise.